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What is Nursing Informatics?

The Specialty of Nursing Informatics:

  • Integrates nursing science, computer science, and information science;
  • Encompasses other sciences, such as clinical decision-making, systems cycles, linguistics and ergonomics;
  • Strives to simplify nurses’ interactions with data collection, processing, application and evaluation through analyses, education and technological support; and,
  • Participates actively in forecasting future healthcare trends and establishing mechanisms for nurses to thrive within these changes.

 

NCNA Advocates Informatics Competencies for ALL Nurses

  • Computer Literacy: Use technologies in practice (email, word processing).
  • Information Literacy: Locate, evaluate and use information appropriately.
  • Informatics Competency: Identify, collect, record, analyze and interpret nursing information; use information technologies in practice; maintain privacy, confidentiality, and security of information.

 

Informatics Roles

  • Hospital or Care Setting: Train new staff on computer systems, implement systems, system administrator, project manager/member, information security officer.
  • School of Nursing: Teacher, researcher, theorist.
  • Vendor: Sales, installation, development.

 

Informatics Practice - People Components

  • Advocate for nursing practice
  • Change management facilitator
  • Identify nursing work processes
  • Support effective user interface
  • Ergonomic design of work space
  • Communication with users
  • Educate users

 

Informatics Practice - Technology Components

  • Requirements definition and system selection
  • System analysis
  • System design
  • Customize software applications
  • Software maintenance
  • Testing and evaluating applications
  • Train users on technology use
  • System development and innovation